In The Blood of Roses
by Irish Cream
Summary: It is a time when the code of chivalry bound even the strongest knight, in a land where only the savage ruled.Bethrothed to a man she barely knew, in love with a man who had pledged to see her untouched across his untamed land.Yolei Inoue was trapped with
1. Default Chapter

In The Blood of Roses  
Kenlei  
Summary: It was a time when the code of chivalry bound even the strongest knight, in a land where only the savage ruled..  
Bethrothed to a man she barely knew, in love with a man who had pledged to see her untouched across his untamed land…Yolei Inoue was trapped within the fiery coil of passion, and an icy shield of honor…  
AN: The men and women in this story must fight, defeat and persue love before love destoys their very souls…  
  
Part 1 / Chance and Consequence.  
  
"Do not father! Do not I beg of thee!"  
"Sadistic wench! Ungratful child! Hast thou no shame!"  
A snap flung her lavender hair swishing into her face as her impact with the stone floor left her prone.  
"Nay sir! Stop this now!" A strong hand grasped the old man's gnarled fist, the protectors blue eyes burning.  
"She hath done you no wrong, Milord. Mayhap you should think twice before damaging that which belongs to me."  
The man's mouth dropped, and an indignant shout filled the hall.  
"Why you ungrateful spawn of hell! If it t'were not for me-"  
"If it t'were not for you, the women I love would not be lying on the floor. Have care I do not crush your skull, if you but lay one finger upon that which is mine again…"  
Lowering his fist, the girls father spat upon the floor near his unconcious daughter.  
"Take her! Take the bitch and be gone before I return. I denounce you both, scum! I will not have you besmirching the name of this house!"  
The younger man turned as the enemy left, quickly kneeling beside the girl, lifting her into his arms.  
"Oh, beloved…I am sorry I did not come to thee sooner…But I would not put in beyond yonder sire to sink his dagger betwixt my shoulder blades…"  
The girl moaned, stirring, and the man lifted her ito his embrace, carrying her out of the keep to where his men waited…  
  
@------  
  
4 Months previous  
  
The early morning vibrated with life and prosperity across the sunlit lands and snowy mountains..  
Lakes gleamed like copper coins, beneath the light, babbling brooks tumbled over glistening silver fish and the emerald grass offered comfort and solace to a young maiden escaping her life.  
The girl, yet a maid, slid off her pastel hued slippers which matched the foliage, taking a moment to breath in the fresh air away from the keep.  
"Sweet solace, I have found thee…"  
She giggled, skittering over to the brook to play with the glinting goldfish beneath.  
"Hello my friends!"  
A mischevious fellow nibbled cautiously at her fingertip, and she laughed.  
"Cease creature! I am not a tender tidbit sent to soothe thy hunger!"  
Teasing, she sat back and dipped her tiny feet into the cool water.  
"Lady Yolei!"  
Slumping, she blew out a long breath and rolled her eyes. Thinking quickly, she threw herself backwards to splay across the mossy ground. Mayhap the girl would not see her…  
"Lady Yolei!"  
This time, the handmaiden sounded worried, and she took pity on the gentle soul.  
"Come Kari! I am not but a foot step away!"  
She rose, peering over the shrubbery so as to allow the brunette to see her.  
"Oh! Heavens milady! Why hast thou come this far into the gardens! One cannot find a slender thing such as yourself if you wear the trees colors!"  
Yolei looked down at her simple green dress, raising a lilac brow.  
"I should think dear maid, that my hair should be a beacon within these emerald woods."  
Huffing, Kari sat down and arranged her dainty pink skirts.  
"That hair would make the lilac faeries green with envy, Milady. And then thou shant be able to hide even within their fields as you would be the only violet in their garden."  
Yolei laughed, playfully patting the intricatly coiled strands of auburn upon Kari's head.  
"Thou seekest me out, now seeks to turn my head with pretty words! Come my friend! Tell this humble maid why thou hast sought me out within my last sacred haven! I would not want my father to follow and find, for I would keep the peace here with my last breath!"  
As the melodrama ended, the tiny handmaiden stood, brushing off her rosey skirts.  
"I have sought you out at the insistence of thy father, Lady Yolei!"  
Stopping, Yolei suddenly turned serious, looking over her bare shoulder to the poised maid behind her.\  
Eyes the shade of sunshine laden shadows darkened even further within the copse of trees that speckled rays of light upon her ivory visage.  
"Come now…Heed my words dear friend, for I die as much to say them."  
She turned fully, frowning in trepidation.  
"Do not taunt me, Kari. My father does not seek me out for any reason. Quickly! Tell these burning ears the news, fair or foul! I would hear it now!"  
looking away, Kari felt her throat clog with tears.  
"Word has come of impending nuptials…That which were arranged before thy fairest hand was able to hold the flowers you keep so dearly…That which hast been kept in secret under lock and key by thou father and step mother…"  
Frustrated, Yolei stamped her small foot, anxious to hear the words that would change her world forever.  
"Thou father has received word that thou betrothed has summoned you to his castle."  
Her eyes widened, shock sinking inside her.  
"Wha-what speakest thou of?!"  
Kari looked her in the eyes, tears slipping past her lids.  
"After seeing my lady at the midsummer gathering, thou affieanced was captured by thy beauty. He hath called upon the papers signed less then a score ago, and he now finds it in his right to claim you…Even now, his men have been sent to bring you cross the badlands to thy future husbands arms…"  
With a devestated shriek, Yolei flung herself from the comforting hands of her friend.  
"Nay! I shall deny it! No marriage have I sought nor seek! I shant acknowledge this man who does not show his face before me!"  
Kari desperatly tried to cool the tempered sobbing of her best firend.  
"Milady…Come, we must find your father now…Mayhap thou can appeal to his gentler side and not be bound to the man, Lord Davis Motomiya…"  
  
"Girl! Thou hath been nought but a burden 'pon my back since thou was two days on this world! I would be rid of you before the words are even spoken!"  
Downcast, Yolei listened to the tired ranting of her father. She could not speak, she would not beg.  
"Motomiya's guard shall be here to claim you before the sun sets on this third day past! Heed this wench! Doth thou hear me?"  
She raised tearful eyes to her disgusted father.  
"Yes, sire. I hear you louder then any day before…"  
Grumbling, he sank into a high backed chair, reaching for a full goblet of wine.  
This faeiry child that stole the light from beneath him would no longer plague this keep with her beauty and laughter, distracting his knights and laborours…  
Ever since her mother had died giving life to the girl, he had hated her…Hated his own child as much as he had loved the mother before her.  
"With the upcoming party, my pain shall be taken with them…Your mirrrored face, so much like the women who bore you, shall not haunt me! You shall be gone, daughter mine! Gone!"  
Raising gracefully, Yolei tilted her head, defiently eyeing the man who dared to call her daughter.  
"Gods grace hath then been bestowed upon me to. For I shall be gone from under thy hateful thumb…"  
With a muttered curse and a wave of his shaky hand, she was dismissed.  
:As the door closed behind her, the old lord took another swallow of the wine he loved to purge his pain with.  
"Your mother would hate me so…"  
  
@--\----  
  
"Halt men! We have reached the Inoue keep! God is forgiving to let so bloodstained a group as ours find solace in this here stone wall…"  
Much clanging and banging ensued, as the advane party of 15 of Motomiyas finest knights lept off steeds and removed armor in order to hurry into the welcoming walls.  
Verbose shouting and gesticulation filled the bailey with utter chaos as the men eagerly unpacked.  
"Milord!"  
A tall, shaky voiced boy looked up at the even taller men.  
"Yes boy?"  
With a quick, jerky bow and nod, the young man introduced himself.  
"I am Theo Fouray, and I have been sent to be your squire while you adjourn her. Milord sends me to gather you and bring you to the armory. The others shall see to your gear if it is permissable."  
With a nod, the leader took his broadsword and followed the boy with the eager grey eyes into the stone mason.  
  
The old man was eccentric and furious looking in his red tunic and leggings. Silvery hair puffed up round his wrinkled face like grey fronds caught in a storm. Cold steely eyes, faded by years, burned from the grimace he bestowed upon the knight sent to take his daughter.  
Surprisingly, the old man suddenly grinned, shaking the armor clad hand.  
"Hey now man! Formality shalt be thy name if thou refuses to remove thy heavy armor!"  
Chuckling, The black clad knight apologized.  
"If I offend you good sir, aplologies are mine, for I dare not remove my armor for reasons of conduct. 'Tis not your men I distrust, nor you. I have been a knight so long,…Man must protect his self to protect others as well…"  
Nodding the old man turned away.  
"Aye good sir, I bare witness to thine own dilemma…"  
I sudden knock on the door alerted the man, and with another grin, her clapped a hand upon the knights back.  
"Aye! That shall be my dear daughter! I sent for the girl to introduce you to what you shall bring to Motomiya! Come in girl! Come in!"  
The heavy portal was opened, and a slender vision took the very breath from the man beside the father.  
The girl's violet hair fell, unfettered round her shoulders in tantalizing defience. Ivory skin taunted his senses, bare shoulders haunting his eyes.  
She was clad in a pale, pastel mauve dress, gossamer and sylph-like. It clung invitingly to the smooth length of her body, and his hands ached to touch her.  
But this was not what captured him.  
She raised proud, honey hued eyes to his own, and he lost his breath.  
He had seen those eyes before.  
In a million tortured dreams. Eyes that had cried and laughed and feared and loved him.  
Eyes that had comforted him and left him longing since he was a wee bairn.  
Clumsily, he reached up to undo the bindings of his helm. With shaking hands, he tore at the clasps without removing his icy blue eyes from her own, equally stunned orbs.  
"M-milady…"  
He strode to her, surprising himself, to fall into a bow at her feet. With calm poise outside, and haunting longing inside, he took her white hand and raised it to his lips.  
"M-milady…I am honored that you would grace us with your prescence…"  
She seemed to take a moment to find her tongue, opening her rosy lips to speak, closing them, then opening them again.  
"I t-thank you, milord…The pleasure is mine…"  
He stood, eyes never leaving her face, even when the father cleared his throat angrily.  
He shook himself, curiously stepping away.  
"Forgive me for my ill manners Lady Yolei…I am Lord Ken Ichijouji, first knight of Davis Motomiya, sent to begin your journey this very day's past…"  
All the girl heard was the name, and she blushed, glancing away.  
"Aye, milord Ichijouji…I must leave you now…T-to prepare…"  
With a last desperate glance, she fled the room, and the glowering eyes of her father….  
  
  
"Lady Kari! Lady Kari!"  
Yolwi tore up the steep stone steps to her tower room, frantically searching for the little handmaiden.  
"Milady? What presses thee on so?"  
She stumbled, at breakneck speed, into the knight, Matt Ishida.  
"Oh! Heaven forgive me Lord Matthew!"  
With a raised blonde brow and hearty smirk, he realeased her.  
The girl rubbed her sore arms, where is sturdy grasp had bruised her.  
"Apologies, Milady. The contact was so sudden, I fear I may have bruised thee…"  
Shaking her lilac head, the girl offered Matthew a smile. "'Twas my fault, good sir. I shall be more careful the next time…"  
Frowning, the young knight looked at the beautiful women. "I fear the next time shall be farther to the future, dear girl...I have heard of thy wedding, and of thy journey through the badlands…"  
Her golden eyes grew pained, and she turned from the stalwart protector.  
"Cease, Sir Matthew…Remind me not…I share the fear, for *I live it soon…"  
Without another glance, she darted past her friend, to continue her trek up the stairs.  
  
"Milady?"  
Kari turned when her mistress burst through the portal, throwing herself tearfully upon her feather tick.  
"God mocks me! I know it! I feel it like daggers within my breast!"  
Hurridly, the little brunette set down her sewing and rushed to the girl.  
"Nay, dear Yolei! God does nothing so!"  
With a hiccuping sob, Yolei gathered a downy pillow to her breast and sat up.  
"I have found him!"  
The girl frowned, confused. "Who, Yolei? Who hath thou found?"  
Her purple hairfell in waves round her cherished face, smudged with the dew of tears, and eyes older then her 17 years burned to the center of Kari's compasssion.  
"The one I have oft' told you of in my dreams…The man who I have lived with in my heart for as long as I can remember…"  
Kari giggled. "Whay speakest thou of? The young knightwho would sweep thou off those tiny feet and bring thou t'wards the sunlight?"  
Throwing herself angrily off her bed, Yole spun, chin hight.  
"You dare jest with fates mocking hand! Cease thy laughter! Desist 'afore I send you wth…me…"  
Suddenly, she eyed the laughing girl with malicious intent.  
"Oh dear maiden, I fear you have chortled thy way into a long, hard journey…"  
The brunette stopped, growing wary. "Thou would not dare!"  
Spinning, Yolei pranced over to the maids small dresser of belonging, opening the drawer and collecting a few. "Aye, I would dare, and I do…Thou shall journey with this hurting soul to Castle Haldane!"  
Stuttering, the brown haired lady jumped off the bedding, mind racing.  
"But Milady! What of…We…I was…"  
Softly, Yolei arched a purple brow at her best friend.  
"Thy worries over your Tk for nought. The cleric journeys with us anyways, for holy support."  
Blushing, the brunette turned away.  
"Come now, Kari. He hast yet to tell thee of his journey? Well, the joy of surprise shall be left unto thy shoulders. Go! Seek out thy sinful cleric and tell him of thy trip! Go!"  
Kari spun, fleeing the roo, and Yolei once again sunk into depression.  
"I have found to lose the very thing I sought to find and keep…"  
  
@à---  
  
"I tell thee Tai! This maid I hath met before!"  
The chestnut haired archer lay sprawled lazily across a thick, comfortable rug, his ever present bow not but a handspread away.  
Wild, unruly hair abounded over the handome young mans forhead, and laughing foresty eyes peeked from bebeath.  
"I say, dear friend, in the kindest way, that thou art mad."  
Throwing himself up, the brunette gave his commander and friend a lengthy perusal  
"Nay…Not mad, but smitten, which may be worse then any case of insanity…"  
Running a slender hand through his navy hair, Ken sighed.  
"In this case, mayhap, Sir Tai. I cannot afford to be smitten with my best friends bride…"  
Easing backwards, deceptivly relaxed, the archer put his hands behind his head.  
"From what my wee sister hath told me of thy fair lady…Yolei Inoue is a spitfire when riled…Best not try her temper…"  
Rolling eyes the color of gods encased in the ice of decades, Ken huffed.  
"I fear it within me Tai…No jesting…Thine own words cannnot deter me in this foolish quest."  
Abruptly sitting up, Tai seriously watched his leader.  
"A foolish quest is a quest one needs not follow. Do not tell thy friend and comrade that one such man as thyself would throw it all away for some women!"  
Ken stood, unsmiling, before the bowmen.  
Nay, friend. I throw away all that I have, and that in itself is nothing. But fear not. I shall do all I must to stay away from her. I only seek to speak with the girl…"  
Standing also, the now unjoking young archer faced the leader.  
"Careful with thy words, Lord Ken. 'Tis not only the marriage of this girl to thy friend that hangs on the arms of cortesy, but also the kinship of three kingdoms. Civil war is just what the enemy needs to destroy our lands…"  
Of course, what the man spoke of was true.  
If the three kingdoms, Motomiya of Haldane, Inoue of Taldin, and Ichijouji of Clerid broke ranks, the enemy kingdoms of the north would invade and conquer before the month was over.  
"I have joined as a knight of Haldane only to complete my training. When I return to rule Clerid, I shall have to chose a bride to my liking…Mayhap then, this emptiness shall fill…"  
"Do not go then, Lord Ken."  
The words had come from Izzy Izumi, who had satm unseen in the shazdows.  
"Must thou always sneak up unwarrented, Izzy?"  
With a smile, Ken greeted the small redhead. The inventor, mage, genius and wise man that had accompanied the entourage to the Inoue castle Taldin, stood and joined the embrace of firelight.  
Tai was not so forgiving.  
"Bah! Take thy magic elsewhere you plotting little mole! We need no such council from a man who keeps cow dung in jars!"  
Laughing, Izzy turned to Sir Tai.  
"And you, dear friend. I am surprised thy hast yet to jump the journey to seek the warm embrace of a certain leggy barmaid…"  
Tai grinned, patting the shoulder of the mage.  
"Ah, Mole…Is that a hint of jealousy in thy girly voice?"  
With a raised coppery browm the short man turned. "If it is jealousy, it is only because the maiden Sora has a never ending supply of dung where thee is concerned…"  
A hand came up and rubbed the chestnut locks, as Tai blushed.  
"Aye…My dear girl does have the unseemly habit of throwing angry projectiles at my head, does she not?"  
Izzy smirked, shaking his head. "Mayhap, if thou would learn not to tempt her hand, by chasing any skirt that passes by…"  
With a groan, Ken watched the proceedings. "Cease, men! Thy prattle makes my head sore! Sleep now, for our journey begins at dawn!"  
As he approached the door, Tai sttod, shoving the heavily robed redhead to the ground in the guise of an accident.  
"Ken! Sleep we shall, but what of thee?! Where is thy off to?"  
Raising a blue brow, Ken loked the now scuffling two over.  
"I do not bed down in the nursery…I must seek council with the stars…"  
Grumbling, he left the short inventor smacking the much taller brunette in the arm, while he laughed…  
  
The blonde cleric, sat pensivly in his chambers overlooking the stars.  
His forbidden thoughts were not on God as they should be, but on a tiny maiden who would meet him in a matter of moments.  
"Tk?"  
Turning, he quickly embraced the girl in the darkness, clinging to her for dear life.  
"Tk…What makest thou embrace me so?"  
He looked down at the Maiden Kari, seeking out her soft lips in the darkness.  
She reached up, clasping her hands around his neck to deepen the kiss.  
It was, to him, like heaven and hell meeting.  
He kissed her for all he was worth, even as he felt the betryal to his parents strong and true.  
For a moment after they broke the embrace, all he did was hold her, words needed to e spoken, bu f he could just have her in this moment…  
"Tk? Please, what ails thee, my love?"  
He held her tenderly, smiling at her beloved beauty in the moonlight.  
"Kari…I betray my God for you, I betray my parents for you, but I betray my heart for no one…"  
Fear widened her cinnamon eyes, and she tried to draw away.  
"What doth thou speak of, Tk?"  
With a chuckle, he hugged her.  
"Only of my heart, and that belongs to you…."  
Snuggling against him, she spoke into his robed chest.  
"Tk, my news is both good and bad. For I journey with thee to Haldane castle…"  
Ecstatic, the blonde lifted her, swinging her around.  
"Truly! Oh beloved! The Gods may smile upon us yet!"  
With a laugh, he set her down. "Aplogies, dear Kari…What of the bad news?"  
Looking away, Kari sighed. "I fear my lady is going to grow infatuated by the very man who must protect her virtue…"  
The cleric frowned, tilting her chin up.  
"Come now Kari…Why must thou always speak in riddles?"  
"I speak not in rhyme, dear Tk…I must warn thee…Yolei believes that a man has been found that matched the one from her dreams…"  
The dreams had been forevver. A million painted storiues had reached this young, reluctant priests ears on more then one occasion.  
"The one with the sky blue eyes and the gentle voice? The one she has told thee of forever?"  
At her nod, Tk thought deeply.  
"There is only one man I can see as her dream lover, and that is the face and ancient blue gaze of Kenneth Ichijouji…"  
At her indrawn breath, he thought only to ease her trepidation.  
"Nay! I have known Ken for many a year past, and I have often compared the two…But fear not! He is at his own kingdom…And Clerid is far from-"  
"-Nay!"  
Kai looked up in astonishment and surprise.  
"Nay Tk! Lord Ken has led the men here! Remember? To complete his taining, he joined Haldane as First Knight!"  
With a gasp and a laugh, Tk shook his head.  
"It is impossible or it is fate, Kari!"  
Looking into the darkness, Kari lowered her voice.  
"Fate…It seems her hand is well divided betwixt the group of us…"  
She stepped away, slipping into shadow.  
"I must away, for I have a journey to prepare both Milady and I for.."  
Tk nodded. "Aye…As do I…Kari?"  
He took a step closer, bringing their lips into soft contact once again 


	2. In The Blood of Roses 2 / Missing Links

In The Blood of Roses  
Kenlei  
Summary: It was a time when the code of chivalry bound even the strongest knight, in a land where only the savage ruled..  
Bethrothed to a man she barely knew, in love with a man who had pledged to see her untouched across his untamed land…Yolei Inoue was trapped within the fiery coil of passion, and an icy shield of honor…  
AN: The men and women in this story must fight, defeat and persue love before love destoys their very souls…  
  
Part 2 / Missing Links.  
  
Ken took in the sights with avid awe and loss of breath.  
The rolling hills cascaded like green fire as far as the eye could see, now shivering emerald in the prescence of the glittering moon.  
Water, shiny as newly born coins, split the hills into separate towers, cutting smoothly across the horizon.  
It thundered gently down towards the keep, reminding him of oncoming, relentless cavalry.  
The sky, black as tar, was thrown across the world like an ancient mariners net, capturing the gleaming stars within the folds of inky pewt.  
The world was still for him, in this moment, and he closed his eyes to savor all he could.  
"Beautiful, is it not?"  
A shaky voice startled him from the solace, and he spun, hand upon sword until he espied the slender figure emerging from the shadows.  
The moonlight bathed her features like the caress of Selenity, and he felt his mouth dry.  
Her skin was a wash of ivory, the golden eyes shadowed and dark beneath the sky.  
Hair, the color of summer lilac swept down her shoulders where it playfully escaped the breeze from the hills.  
The Lady smiled timidly, her own gaze never leaving his face, which did unnerving things to his heart.  
"Aye…Aye…"  
He bowed quickly, not trusting herself to kiss the slender fingers holding her wrapper about her.  
She glowed ethereal, reflecting the moonlight and the stars, and he felt like he was slipping off the brink of sanity, and he never wanted to return.  
"Have…We met before?"  
She shook her head, still smiling, but stepping closer.  
"Never and always…"  
Her riddle confused him, but he swallowed and quickly turned back to the view, escaping the vision that she was.  
"We leave in several hours Milady…Why doth thou not sleep?"  
She stood beside him, heedless of his effect on her proximity.  
"I thought only to enjoy the sights I will not be afforded again."  
He kept his gaze on the hills.  
"Did you…Submit to this marriage? Was it of thy own choosing?"  
She shook her head, sadly.  
"Nay. I only found out this same morning, and I fear it…As I fear thee…"  
His gaze snapped back to her, where she watched him steadily, snaring his own eyes with her amber vision.  
"What fear have I placed within thee Milady?"  
She giggled, the sound sending a shiver down his spine.  
"A fear of a different text, Lord Kenneth…I've not met the man of my dreams before…"  
He started, jerking himself from the stupor she had placed him in.  
"Girl! Thy speaks from a fools mind!"  
Yolei raised a brow slightly.  
"Do I? I am not the only to feel it Milord Knight…"  
He looked away, refusing to relinquish the answer. She continued.  
"The moment I saw thee, I knew thy form, thy look, thy touch, thy taste…"  
Her eyes smoldered in the darkness, stealing his breath.  
She had not so much as touched him, but he felt like he had been stripped from the inside out.  
"I can sense it, as I do many a thing…Thou hath felt it also…"  
Laughing nervously, Ken flexed, his black armor clanking softly in the night.  
"Thy speaks of nothing! Thy-Thee…"  
He drifted off, looking into eyes that seemed to hold the world at bay in their laughing prescence.  
"Why have I dreamt of thee? Is thee a witch? Doth thou practice arts blacker then this here sky?" HE gestured with his palm, encompassing the sky.  
"Aye! I have seen those eyes before! Touched those lips before! Kissed that skin before!"  
He quieted, his voice a harsh whisper.  
"Who art thou??"  
She nodded, smiling gently, before reaching up and placing a tender kiss upon his stubbled cheek.  
"I am everything thou believes me to be."  
Her simple logic, stated with such belief shook him to the core.  
In a flicker of white silk and lace, she had disappeared.  
Once again he was alone, but a thousand times more empty.  
  
Haldane Castle  
  
Lord Davis Motomiya stood in the armory, carefully selecting a sword to use against a nervous, edgy companion.  
"Mayhap we should save the war toys for a later date Milord…"  
The shaky, reluctant voice of the tall, handsome blue haired man echoed through the silent hall.  
"Aw, come now, Joseph! I shall go easy on thee!"  
The dignified Irishmen eyed the sword distastfully.  
"Aye…Mayhap that is more of the problem, sir…"  
With a laugh, Davis slapped a hand on the scholars shoulder.  
"Come now! By thy nervous jitters, good sir, I fear thee a women"  
With a sly, purple gaze, he raked the cool heded irishmen. "Or mayhap 'tis a women that sets thy nerves a jitter…?"  
The man stepped away, adjusting his black tunic. "I know not of what thou speakest of, lordship."  
A hearty laught greeted his ears, and he turned red.  
"I know that the beauteuous, lovely, " He arced his sword, parrying and thrusting as he waxed poetic on beauty. "Resplended, magnificent, comely, unbeleivably rich maiden with her eyes set upon you…"  
He looked at the now nervous scholar. "Is joining us in several days, and thee…My fine blue feathered bookman, have been requested to greet her!"  
Joseph turned, adjusting his indigo hair in a nearby sheild.  
"I have been requested by the lady on account of my…uh…Higher skills…"  
Davis let out a bellow of laughter, grinning at the other man.  
"Higher skilles, eh? If the ladies father were to hear of these, ahem…Skills…The I fear thy prescence would not be so sorely needed!"  
Arms akimbo, the Lord Joseph, famed scholar and writter throughout the kingdoms, shook his blue head.  
"Sir! I feel it is within the boundries of modesty to refrajn from such slanderous rumors! Why, if the Lady were here now, she would-"  
"Lord Joseph!"  
He stopped, and Davis smiled calmly. "Nay Joseph…Curb thy tongue…."  
Replacing the heavy sword, Davis started towards the doorway.  
"I shall let other tongues wag on that account, sir…We must think now of my impending nuptials."  
He ran a hand through his spiked burgundy hair, the other man trailing,  
"From the momen I spotted the lady fair, I knew my heart was spoken for. With Yolei Inoue bymy side, I think that I shall be complete…"  
Joseph frowned, watching his friend and companion. "davis, come now…What if the lady is a shrew? What if she is a snobby child?"  
Turning, Davis smiled. It was a warm and dreamy smile, set to the tune of a thousand singing faeries.  
"Nay Joseph…Within this girl the light of angels breathes. If thou hath seen her, thou would love her. A truer heart was never born."  
Confident in his assumption, He strtode away, leaving the scholar to mull over his own problems.  
"I hope for thine own sake, that thy words ring faithful…"  
  
She was utterly, divinly beautiful.  
It was almost like angels had spun all the beauty of eras into one perfecct face.  
And that face was the Lady Mimi Tachikawa.  
The Tachikawas had stopped at the Peacock Inn just before dinner, bringing with them baggage and servents enough for ten men.  
The lady in question had fluttered in like some errant, pastel butterfly, causing men to gape and women to hide their own faces in shame.  
Her burnished, pale almond, hair was like waves of creamy bronze gold. Her eyes were the color of polished amber, set in a face the shade of moonlit, ivory orchids.  
The body was equal to the face, with s slender waist and high, proud breasts. Petite and leggy combined to make her a vision of perfection.  
Hers was a face men wrote poems and plays about, a body men dreamed about and a smile the ethereal envy.  
The entourage was led by a blustery old man, Lord Tachikawa, her old and gentle father.  
They ordered 3 rooms, all of which were the highest quality, in an Inn that was the finest in the Haldane kingdom.  
"Milady?"  
Sora was surprsed to see Lady Mimi waving her way over.  
She stopped, nervously adjusting her modest yellow gown and braided hair.  
"Can I help thee, Lady Mimi?"  
A graceful smile was bestowed upon her, and Sora felt undeniably dowdy.  
"Thank you, kind lady…Doth thou know my name already? Well then! 'Tis a welcome invite that I give thee now!"  
Sora frowned, confused. "Excuse me, lady Mimi. But I fear I undcerstand thee not…"  
Expertly, Mimi opened a pastel blue fan that matched the lace on her silk peacock blue and green dress.  
"I love the color of your hair, Milady! "Tis likened to a fine red wine!" Smiling sweetly, she drew the flabbergasted Sora to a nearby table.  
"What is your name dear?"  
Relaxing, the barmaid smiled back. "I am Sora Tak chi, Lady Mimi…I own this establishment…"  
"Heavens save us! A lady running this Inn! How exciting!"  
Sora's light brown eyes widened, and she felt a bit more confident in her prescence.  
"I am but a well oft maiden…But I would very much like to hear your story have you the time lady Sora…"  
Grinning, the redhead settled in. A friend after all, is a friend.  
  
Yolei said her good byes only to the staff that raised her, and the friends who bade her.  
To her disheartening mind, she realized neither her father, not Kenneth Ichijouji were present.  
A deep, burgundy velvet cloak shaded her gentle skin from the approaching storm spreading cross the sky and the silken yellow traveling gown beneath looked like cornsilk woven by faeries of the moor.  
Her length of violet hair was raised atop her face, held by a thin circlit of gold which glimmered in the fading sky.  
"Milady?"  
To her side perched Maiden Kari, adorned in a fine raiment of silvery grey cloth. Hooked around her narrow waist was the keys to her ladies chests, and she wore them with pride. Her own mousy brown hair spilled down her back, caught in a thick tail. Eyes like spice and sugar gleamed with excitement as she searched the gathering crowds for Tk, the cleric.  
"Kari…Fear not, he will come…"  
Listless, Yolei felt her own honeyed gaze dim with sadness.  
What man would not come to see his daughter off? Even so hated a child must be loved by some!  
To any degree, she wanted to banush her father for kinder thoughts, but even then…Who would lay claim to her?  
"He is here Yolei! Tk has arrived!"  
The somber blonde lifted himself atop the fine mahogany steed that was appropritated for him. He nodded at Kari, smiling as if their secret remained one, before speaking to Yolei.  
"'Tis time to beging your journay, Lady Yolei…Are you ready?"  
At her nod, he turned and signalled to the lead. They nodded, and the rumble of carts and wagons begun.  
"Priest Tk, I wonder if you know…Does Lord Ken come soon?"  
An exchanged glance with Kari affirmed the maidens suspicions. They both knew of her dreaming.  
It angered her that her confidence in Kari was ungrounded. She felt her blood heat and temper flare.  
Seeking to banish this rage, she drew her white mare a pace away.  
Let the two forbidden lovers have their gossip! It 'twas not as if they were not the center of it themselves!  
Bah!  
She glowered dismally at the encroachign forest, aware that this would be one of the last times she would see them in their green glory.  
"Farewell…"  
"My fair lady…I hope thou doth not bid me leave afore I even greet you…"  
Her head turned quickly, and she found herself gazing into the darkest brown eyes she had ever seen.  
"Sir! Prithee do not frighten me so!"  
An awkward, half bow from upon his horse, followed by a chuckle greeted her senses.  
"Forgive me, fair beauty! My name is Taichi Kamiya, sxibling of yonder Maiden Kari…No doubt shehas spoken highly so of me…"  
Frowning to cover her humor, Yolei looked away.  
"Nay sir, thou art mistaken…I had not heard Kari had a brother!"  
Feigning horror, Tai turned to stare agape at his unaware sibling.  
"Nary a word, Milady? I am cut to the very quick!"  
She giggled, instantly charmed by this capering rogue, and cheering up at the thought of a new friend.  
"Art thouu an archer of Haldane?" She gestured to the bow strapped to his back.  
Shaking his wild brown head, Tai smiled. "Nay my mistress fair, I am famed archer of Clerid. Loyal to the knight who seeks thee out."  
A gesture towards the back of the entourage had her face quickly turning in that direction.  
Sure enough, a handsome knight astride an enormous black destrier claimed her full attention.  
Her breath was lost as she searched the stoic face for the same warmth that had claimed her daydreams upon their prior meeting.  
"Milord…"  
She smiled, and he nodded curtly before continuing to the front, leaving her smile to fade to embarresment.  
Tai felt his mouth hang open slightly after the dismissal of the maid from Ken's prescence. Never had he seemed so uncouth!  
"Sir?" By now, Ken was to far from hearing, but with an apologetic smile to the Lady Yolei, he stirred his horse to action and trotted up to his younger friend  
"Ken, I fear thy manners lack much in the way of gentlemen..Nary a once in all my times beside thee, have I witnessed so rude an act…"  
A stiff frown halted his chastisment, and Tai waited, brows aloft, for some reason to be explained.  
None seemed forthcoming.  
"Very well Milord…But I shall apologize on thy own behalf to the Lady."  
The blue hair jerked and icy eyes held him in his place when Ken glared at him.  
"Nay! Thou feet shall be stalled forthwith! Cease thy prattle you addlepatted gagly lummox! Cease thy needless baffonary and hole thyself up with thy barmaid! My own actions shall never be questioned again! Hear!"  
Tai's usually relaxed expression had hardened with the tirade, until his warm brown eyes were as cold as polished amber.  
Without a word, he halted his horse and turned the way he had come.  
Let the basterd stew in his foul mood! He had done nought to suffer this abuse!  



	3. In The Blood of Roses 3 / Shattered Ice ...

In The Blood of Roses  
Kenlei  
Summary: It was a time when the code of chivalry bound even the strongest knight, in a land where only the savage ruled..  
Bethrothed to a man she barely knew, in love with a man who had pledged to see her untouched across his untamed land…Yolei Inoue was trapped within the fiery coil of passion, and an icy shield of honor…  
AN: The men and women in this story must fight, defeat and persue love before love destoys their very souls…  
  
Part 3 / Shattered Ice King.  
  
Ken lifted a gauntelet clad hand to his helm, reaching up and lifting it off to seek succor from the cold pervading all their senses.  
The heavy metal did nothing but make his lips chatter.  
It had been two days since his fight with the lanky archer, and he had not apologized, nor expected the fool himself to.  
All it had taken was the brunette to try his wiles with the untried maid they sought to keep pure for Lord Davis, to stir his temper to the slavering hights bordering on explosive.  
It was hard enough to restrain himself from seeking out Lady Yolei, he wasn't going to hold off his archer and the rest of the men!  
But all she had to do was look at him with those golden, haunting eyes, and he would be trapped.  
Best ignore her and keep them both safe.  
He chanced a glance at her, where she sat huddled against the cold in a pile of furs. Beside her, the little maid Kari chattered gaily with the cleric, Tk.  
Yolei looked vulnerable and sweet, her hair swirling coyly around her face and limbs. She watched the flames before her flicker and dance, no doubt imbroiled in her wretched state of life.  
Twas a foul night indeed, to be out and under God's sky.  
"Milord?"  
He glanced up, taking in the redhead beside him.  
"What is it Izzy? I am cold and would lay 'pon my palette afore I freeze…"  
The mage cocked a brow, glancing at the armor clad knight.  
"And well I see this, Lord Ken. Metal does not for the bones but aid the hasty grip of winter."  
Stiffly, Ken nodded before gesturing to the fire.  
"Go, inventor mine. Seek out companionship with the fool you call friend. I have not the patience to warrant your nagging…"  
Izzy leaned back, giving his leader the once over.  
"The fool I call friend, good sir, hath told me the very same. Evidently, thy fool and thee are at odds…Again,"  
With a snort, The blue haired knave doffed his gloves in order to eat the meal a squire was handing out.  
"Aye! He hath vexed me sorely! Putting airs about the tender maid we now protect! A foul soul he hides beneath that foppish grin! Bah!"  
He scowled at the plate, while Izzy tried to contain his mirth.  
"Sir! Thy malady plagues us all! Come now! Do not tell me yonder maid has shifted the ground beneath thee!"  
AT the silent glare bestowed upon him, the sorceror stood.  
"Aye! The air grows chilly! I take my leave of thee, Lord Ken, and hope the morning brings about a better mood…"  
He stepped closer, leaning as if to share some devios secret.  
" I shall give my regards to Tai for thee…"  
He guffawed as he strode through the milling comrades.  
  
Yolei watched the short little red haired man amble lazily through the crowds, hands stuffed into the folds of his monkish blue robes as he chortled like a drunken sailor.  
"Milady?"  
A glance upwards, and she received a plate stacked with vittles, and a small hot toddy.  
"My thanks." She murmmered, before the squire scurried away.  
Sighing, she watched the fire some more. Utterly bored.  
The sun had hidden behind mountains and a snow laden sky for what looked to be a long time, and the night stars began to glimmer and twinkle overhead through the clouds.  
She listened as the archer, lord Tai, summoned forth the watch to guard the borders of the clearing.  
It would be lively game to have a wayward band of brigands storm the clearing!  
Aye! They would sweep through, catchinng the men unprepared, to steal the bounty housed within!  
A handsome and courageous knave would sweep her into his arms, saving her from this foolish journey! With his long dark hair and glittering eyes…  
Even as she imagined, the face of her stalwart savior began to take form.  
Indigo hair, as dark as a ravens blue wing, and eyes as stormy and turbulent as the sea smiled down at her.  
The handsome face of Lord Ken Ichijouji…  
The brave lord would be dressed in simple green brais and a leather jerkin, like the fabled Robin Hood. He would carry her off to a starlit glen and profess to love her for just who she was!  
"Lady Yolei!"  
She started, jerking awake from a sleep she hadn't known happened.  
"Heavens!"  
The overcast sky had begun to drizzle, and a light misting of rain tickled her face and hair.  
"Lady Yolei! 'Tis time to continue!"  
Kari pulled her up, quickly brushing the snarls from the lavender tresses and arranging a delicate coiffer.  
Tk milled around, close to his love as usual, and checked the horses and gear.  
The knights, squires, arches and footmen bustled around, getting ready to set forth once more.  
Lord Ken pulled his horse up beside her, gazing down with hooded icy eyes.  
"Milady…I must seek thy forgivness for my curtness on the yester noon…I fear I was not as gallent as I should have been…"  
Blushing, as she remembered her girlish dreams, she nodded and pulled onto her white mare  
"Have no qualms Milord. Twas not as if thy shirked from obligations…"  
She turned her horse to the path behind a wagon, and Ken fell into step beside her.  
"Now I know that thou art angry with me! A colder tone would freeze the netherwords!"  
She tilted her chin to a lofty angel, not dismissing his statement.  
"I conceed, Lord Ken, that I was slightly hurt…But twas not as if thou and I are 'friends' or anything…Else."  
He frowned, eyeing her graceful jawline and smooth neck.  
"Are you sure of that Milady…?"  
He could have bit off his tongue for uttering such a blatent comment, and the girl turned a vivid hue beneath his perusal.  
"Lord Ken…I fear that we pull upon strings that coil round a more complex knot…"  
He sighed, glancing at his hands.  
"I would agree, my dear, for I sense this growing thing betwixt the hidden gazes."  
She bit her lip.  
"It is as I said…We have met before…"  
Ken looked her over.  
"It is as I say, my lady fair…We will love again…"  
He spurred his steed forward, leaving her to watch his retreating back, mouth agape.  
  
Kenneth frowned into the darkness. The black shadows cast even blacker by the frigid white light of the lunar orb.  
All was not well.  
He slid from his hard bedding, slipping his sword from his sheath. A stir to the left of him threw his guard up, and he watched as a hulking silohette disjoined his fellows and lurched behind a tree.  
He was not one of his own men.  
"WE ARE UNDER SIEGE!"  
He bellowed, jolting slumbering men from their dreams and galvanizing them to action.  
Now was not the time for a sly counter attack.  
Squires and footmen alike scrambled to light the torches, as a sudden slew of men spewed from the once quiet forests around them.  
Torches flared, illuminating the faces of over a 60 filthy brigands armed with crude weaponry.  
"Fight men!" He shouted, matching swords with a thick hewn man roughly twice his size. However, skill won out and the man was soon bested.  
Blood rage filled his brain as he watched the scattered remnants of his men, still exhausted from the days journey, fall beneath the onslaught.  
His eyes flew upwards, to where the archer, Sir Tai, was now perched upon a tree limb, taking careful, quick aim and slaying the group of looters one by one.  
The sorceror Izzy quietly mumbled rapid phrases as he began to glow with an eeriy blue-white light. The woodsmen drew back in fear, but it was all for naught.  
A blinding whip of fire snared the men in it's grasp before climaxing in a roaring inferno of heat, silencing their terrified screams in it's fury.  
"Churlish knave!"  
A scream penetrated his awed eyes, and he pivoted, taking into sight the Lady Yolei as she drew a slender dagger from the confines of her gown.  
Her length of mauve hair swathed her shoulders in gleaming silver from the moon, as she took on the reed thin brute with outraged vengence.  
"Back I say, or I'll-"  
Ken solved the dilemma for her, as he gutted the man silently from behind.  
Turning horrified eyes to her savior, Yolei's knees weakened.  
"You, you killed him!"  
With a barely contained snarl, Ken grabbed her arm.  
"This is no fools fight, Girl! This is to the death!"  
He dragged her with him, slicing another through as he weaved a way through the crowd.  
"Lard Ken!"  
Tai's bellow from the tree tops hindered their progress, and an arrow whizzed past the knights ear, connecting with a sneaking brigand seeking to grab the Lady Yolei from the leader.  
Ken raised startled blue eyes to Tai.  
"My lord! Seems 'tis always my job to defend the womenfolk from your brutish manners!"  
The mocking cry was cast above the din of war, and a mocking salute followed from the gleeful archer of Clerid.  
"Tai my friend! Thou hath taken your sweet time to bandy about tart wordings! Go, friend! The battle is lost! Escape to the trees till we meet again!"  
With a nod and a challanging smile, the handsome brunette joined the shadows out of reach from the dancing fires of flickering torches.  
Ken threw himself against a thief carrying a pitchfork, using his size to knock the man down.  
"Cur! I send thee straight to Hell from whence thou was spawned!"  
With a splatter of gore, the looter was dispatched, and they continued through the battle.  
Izzy Izumi, clutching a bleeding limb, roared in full fury, letting another horrendous explosion of light decimate the enemy.  
"Sorceror!" Ken called, and he felt, rather then saw, the black eyes of the mage upon him.  
"All is lost! We must regroup! To the forest!"  
With an almost imperceptible smile, the red head nodded, muttering more phrases before disappearing in a cloak of black wind, men in heated pursuit.  
"Safe journeys, my friend…:" The blue knight whispered, before dragging the cringing lady to the menacing shadows.  
  
"You, You Cad!"  
Yolei wrenche her bruised limb from Ken, and sank to her knees.  
They had been running through the trees for what seemed to be hours, her feet were torn and bloodied, hair in snarled strands.  
She clutched her knees to her chest and vented her rage in a torent of tears.  
Cold, frightened, and broken, she refused to look upon the face of her once girlish affection.  
He himself was silent.  
Ken cursed himself for his lack of regard after forcing her to run through the forest.  
She was disheveled and cold, her shoulders shaking from tears as well as temperature.  
"Milady…"  
He knelt beside her, unsure of how to deal. "I meant only to save you from harm…"  
"Aye!" Her teay gold eyes threw him back a pace, and she sniffed, jerking her head accusingly in the direction they had come. "And For that I thank thee! I thank thee for leaving my poor maid Kari behind! I thank thee for letting a young, inexperienced priest fight without backing! I thank thee for cutting down a lad no older then myself right before my ey-"  
She was choked by tears, and she rocked herself back and forth, seeking to soothe herself.  
Ken swallowed, realizing that he had not thought of her sheltered up bringing, merely let the sword control his actions.  
He clenched his eyes shut, averting his face.  
"Lady Yolei…I-I apologize…."  
She refused to face him.  



	4. In The Blood of Roses 4 / Queen of Heart...

In The Blood of Roses  
Kenlei  
Summary: It was a time when the code of chivalry bound even the strongest knight, in a land where only the savage ruled..  
Bethrothed to a man she barely knew, in love with a man who had pledged to see her untouched across his untamed land…Yolei Inoue was trapped within the fiery coil of passion, and an icy shield of honor…  
AN: The men and women in this story must fight, defeat and persue love before love destoys their very souls…  
  
Part 4 / Queen of Hearts /Subtitle: Joseph's Ugly Duckling.  
  
Lord Josph grumbled. Hunching into his cloak as the rain beat down upon his back.  
Muttering in self-rightous grief, he lamented the choice of days the lady had decided to arrive on.  
Beautiful, bah!  
The last he had seen of Lady Mimi, she had been an awkward goose of a girl! Tripping over her gowns and knocking over the scholars inks in her haste to read over his shoulder.  
He sighed, casting eyes skyward.  
She had sat in that puddle of ink, mouth pursed as she tried to examine the spot of black liquid staining her pert little nose, her bright eyes strangly crossed….Hair in ratty braids…  
Beauty? More like duck. Just as he had always called her. Ducky.  
"Lord Joseph?"  
He raised a brow as a foot solider came into sight.  
"Yes? Go on, man…"  
The man went on to explain that they were in two hours journey of the inn. With a nod, he returned himself to his musings.  
Ducky had been underfoot every time she was anywhere near the castle. She was the reason he had never been able to court the fair ladies of the kingdom!  
The little brat had incessently followed him round like a love sick kitten. Leading all the girls to believe he was more the older brother figure, not the dashing hero of their dreams…  
His brow darkened as he contemplated his now lonley state.  
All he had were his books and romantic notions. What was he to do?  
With a great heaved sigh, he contemplated the time when Ducky had been lost in the woods. The silly girl had followed his hunting party and had got her tiny mare stuck in a gully with her upon it.  
He had been the one to find her…Bundling her stick thin frame in his cloak and holding her shivering, weeping form to his…  
Ducky had been a nuisence, but he had missed her when she left all those years ago.  
He wondered why she was unmarried. 18, after all she was of the age.  
'Probably still the ugly duckling…No man would have the dear, clutzy thing…'  
So here he was, traipsing towards an inn at the edge of midnight, at the request of the girl and father, all because he had had the misfortune of meeting her that long past winter…When she had accidently hurled a snow ball at his head.  
With another dramatic sigh, he tugged the heavy black cape tighter round his tall, whip cord frame, feeling rivlets of rain trickel across his forhead.  
The day she had left the castle was a confusing time for him. He had been relieved to see her go, but also…empty, for losing the companion.  
She had sobbed, hugging his waist with her scrawny arms as he attempted to pry her from him. Joseph had looked down at her blotchy red countanence, wet and shiny from tears, and her matted hair, as he tugged a random twig from the pale brown tresses. Evidence from her earlier romp in the forest when she tried to hide from leaving.  
"Come now Ducky. All will be well! Thy home shall be abound with friends for thee, all of which can play dolls with you, and dress up with you…"  
She had sniffed, nodding her head bravely, and he tweaked her impish nose.  
"Theres a peach! Now take this…" He knelt down to her meager height, taking from his pocket a small silver chain. Upon it dangled a simple silouhette of her namesake. A tiny duckling.  
"Take this, and remember the good times thou had here…"  
Awestruck, she had taken the necklace in her tiny hands, holding it to her breast as the twelve year old regarded him with shining honey eyes.  
"Master Jospeh…My Joseph Blue…" That had been her private name for the tall and poetic man, but she had never voiced it till their parting. "I fea that I-" She broke off, swiping at a tear.  
"I fear that thou shall…"  
With a blur of motion, she reached up and pecked his lips, before pivoting and scampering off to the waiting carriage, chain dangling from her fingers…  
"Ah Ducky…" He sighed now. "Hath six years past since our parting?"  
He was now a man of a score and three (23) with a sound path in the art of scholaring, and a lonley heart.  
A shout warned him of the sighting of the Peacock Inn, and he urged his steed forward.  
Something flickered in his chest. Eagerness to see the clumsy, tiny girl with the enormous golden eyes.  
"Duck, Duck, Duck…"  
He chuckled as he reigned his horse, and slid from the saddle.  
  
Lady Mimi turned quickly when a gust of wind tore through the warm tavern, the heavy oak panel rebounding off the wall.  
"God must loath Haldane to cast his men out on so unworthy a night!"  
The petulent grumbling which echoed though the silent enclosure drew up her golden gaze as the new guests shivered in.  
A tall, lean, black clad figure stamped his feet and fumbled with his cloak in eager haste to find warmth.  
"Aye! Tis a night for the Devils own!"  
His gentle, youngish voice stirred a thousand memories within her suddenly racing heart, and she raised a gleeful hand to her cheek.  
The man finaly unlatched his cape, tugging the sodden garment from his body in a rain of dampness.  
It was he!  
Lord Joseph had really come! She would recognize his form before blackest night or brightest sun…  
He ran an impatient hand through his indigo hair, messing up the usually immaculate strands and blinking his dark eyes like an owl adjusting to the light.  
Two serving maids hurried forward, taking his wet clothing along with that of his entourage.  
Joseph shook his head, scattering droplets of black rain, before cracking his tired neck after the hunched journey.  
Mimi stood, her pulse jumping, and opened her mouth to speak.  
Instead, she felt a joyful tear come to her eye.  
"Lord Joseph!" She squeaked, scurrying her tiny frame towards him.  
The man stopped, turning as he heard his name shouted.  
His handsome face almost comical.  
His black eyes widened, his firm mouth dropped, and his hands suddenly couldn't figure out what to do with themselves.  
"D-D-D-DUCKY??!!"  
She giggled, and embraced him happily, ignoring the fact that he was freezing cold and wet.  
"Joseph Blue! Thou hast really come!"  
He stumbled over his speech, totally aghast at the unexpected turn of events.  
This was…What had happened to…Why had this….  
He heaved a huge inner sigh.  
God enjoyed playing jokes on him upon a daily basis…Why would this be any different?  
The lady Mimi was utterly, magically beautiful. With shining, glistening, moonlight curls the same hue as an almond cream.  
Her eyes, always beautiful, were now bewitching as she stared up happily from the thick fringe of lashes sheilding the amber depths.  
"I cannot believe that thou hast come!"  
Joseph's dark eyes were focused on her full, pouting lips as the softly soprano words flitted from her mouth.  
He nodded jerkily, unable to even speak, and thouroughly wishing that he could disengage himself from her delectable grip.  
"Joseph Kido! My good man! Thou hath came with Hell upon thy heels!"  
The bellowing laugh that accompanied the heavy, chortling baritone, galvanized him and he jumped away from Mimi.  
"A-aye, Lord Tachikawa! Thy looks well for thou long journeys…"  
With a huge slap upon his back, which almost dropped the gangly scholar to his knees, the old lord guffawed.  
"Methinks, this daughter mine takes umbrage at my intrusion!"  
Indeed, the girl stood, arms akimbo, hands on hips and nose in the air…Steadily tapping her foot.  
"Come now Mimi, my girl! I shall leave you now and have my talk with your young lord 'pon my return!"  
Still chuckling, the blustery man tottered back to his table.  
"Um…."  
The blue haired man did not know how to progress.  
  
His breathe fogged the forest air before him, and he darted behind another tree, slinging the quiver of arrows more snuggly against his shoulders.  
'Damnation!'  
He grumbled as he heard a scuffing behind him, and without even the wind noticing, he darted up the nearest tree.  
He hissed beneath his breath as two shadowy forms clumsily continued there pathes, their hoarse whispers scratching against the night.  
"Ay! 'Orace! I ain't ever seen or 'eard a bloody begger move so friggin fast!"  
A gutteral growl was his greeting, and the 2nd shadow muttered a reply.  
"Pipe down thou bleedin' fool! Blimey Hyde! Would thou 'ave the 'hole forest 'pon our backs?!"  
The lithe archer unslung and knocked an arrow, taking careful aim at the shadows.  
A swift 'shick' as the arrow slid through the air was the only sound that rent the night stillness, and the beefy form of Horace melted forward in a pool of black.  
"'Orace? 'Orace! Wher'd thou go?!"  
Another arrow was knocked, and Hyde joined his fellow raider.  
Tai, high up in the branches, cast a wary brown eye to the skies.  
'I hope thou hath made it friends…'  
  
The little mage huffed and puffed, stretching his short legs in joyful haste while he led the brigands through the forest…And away from the other men.  
"Catch me you flea dung curs! Find thy faces scorched and flared by my retreat!"  
He threw back his head, laughing, and narrowly ducking a tree.  
He pumped his legs faster, gaining surprising speed for a man his height, thus putting distance between the group and himself.  
"Thy time has come…" He muttered, suddenly dark, and he began to chant low under his breathe.  
Izzy Izumi could feel the powerful magic spiriling up from the depth of Hell to beckon at his command.  
The familiar, almost electric coil made it semed to crackle the tips of his spiky red hair, and he felt the answering tug of his fingers.  
With a sudden pivot and a shouted curse, the grim reapers fire erupted forth in a blast of blinding hot light.  
The terrified screams of agony made him flinch, but he dared not look back to see the damage his art had wrought.  
'Tell me I do this as a just cause, My lord…'  
He whispered to the stars, and he continued to wend his path through the trees.  
  
"Tk?"  
The tiny girl shook her sleping lover awake, and he yawned in the rays of early dawn.  
"Tk! I heard a noise I fear bodes ill for us!"  
Suddenly alert, the priest gathered the girl into his arms and slipped into the cover of underbrush.  
"Fear no more, Kari…But be silent and still for both our goods, till danger passes."  
As soon as he finished speaking, a scrawny lad of indetermined age snuck into the clearing.  
He was young. No more then ten and five, but his keen green eyes, matcing the forest around him, attested to a wisdom far beyond his years.  
The boy glanced warily around him, searching the trees before settling himself down upon a flat, smooth stone.  
He seemed at ease,, for he casually withdrew a slim dagger from the confines of his leather jerkin, easily finding a reed to whittle.  
The boy's mousy brown hair matched the bark behind him in the trees, and he seemed like some small, wayward puck…Sheltered by the forest he knew well.  
"Come out now, thee may…Hurtin' thee be not me intent…."  
Hie husky voice scared the two still hidden in the brush, and a wary blonde cleric cautiously stood, gesturing for Kari to stay behind.  
"Boy…Be thou a member of the knaves who attacked us?"  
The husky voiced appeared amused by this, as he didn't bother to look up, merely lifted the stick and studied it before continuing his work.  
"Why ain't thee bringin' out that there liedy? Aye…A pretty thing she be."  
Tk stiffined, and his eyes turned cold.  
The wood sprite laughed.  
"Down lad! I wish no harm 'pon thou or thy liedy! I merely be curious ter see what be bringin' thou to my forest!"  
Tk frowned, and Kari lifted herself up and joined the blonde, huddling close to him.  
"Your woods?" She questioned gently.  
The boy nodded, his knife quickly working at the wooden sliver.  
"Aye. Me woods these be. Lived here fer all me ten and five years. Where ye chased, per chance?"  
Tk relaxed somewhat, and Kari slid to the ground for some rest.  
"Attacked by a troop of looters in the dark of night. A cowardly lot they are, and we fear they were to hunt us down 'afore thou entered this glade…"  
The boy with the startling green eyes smiled apologetically.  
"I fear one cannot always be the brave and gallent.… Circumstance at times ferbids us that. But I'll not claim kinship to those bloodthirsty scavangers! Alone I be and I be alone."  
Kari smiled at the youths pride.  
"Have you a name, kind sir?"  
The boy waved a hand.  
"Bah! A sir I'll not be for at least a score! Call me Cody. That be the name 'twas dubbed by the birds ter me back!"  
Tk chortled.  
"Cody it is then….Tell us Cody…How might we find a way out of these thick woods?"  
The lad huffed, adjusting himself on his stone cushion.  
"Not the way thou and thee were going 'bout it! Could hear thee a mile ways away! Aye, that I could!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
